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Publisher's Summary

Traumatised by an accident that involves something falling from the sky and leaving him eight-and-a-half million pounds richer, our hero spends his time and money obsessively reconstructing and re-enacting memories and situations from his past. These include a large building with piano music in the distance, the familiar smells and sounds of liver frying and spluttering, lethargic cats lounging on roofs until they tumble off them....But, when this fails to quench his thirst for authenticity, he starts reconstructing more and more violent events, including hold-ups and shoot-outs.

Story

A work of genius - nothing less

If you have stumbled on this review, then do yourself a big favour and get hold of this book, please! The one novel that tips a narrator's hat to Samuel Beckett in a fully deserving way. How the narrative functions as it does, how it manages to twist and snake, slow down, speed up, stop, redouble, back up to the start, leap forward, echo back and all the time beckon us on.....I have absolutely no idea. To sit down and sketch out either the narrative plot to begin work on this novel can only be described as a genius. To describe the machinations of the plot, is simply to miss the point - Remainder arrives complete in front of the reader and must be appreciated for exactly that....it is not constructed it simply flows and runs as an organic whole. Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man and the whole of the unsurpassable work of Samuel Beckett stand easy comparison - it really is of that magnitude as an individual work and the author will, undoubtedly be judged on his ability to carry off his current whimsey to the same standard. Sounds convoluted....I'm sure. But regard this review as a piece of extraordinary luck - read it, enjoy it and then describe it to someone else and pass the message on.....this is the most exciting piece of work to come out of Britain for years and years and, at last, is a work that can be pointed to as standing amongst Haruki Murakami and Roberto Bolano as the cutting edge and joins them on the new frontier.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

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Blind Girl

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Surely in my Top 5 British Novels

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georgia cowley

01-16-17

Surreal and intriguing and thought prevoking.

Great read. quite a slow paced story but that is part of the creepy atmosphere. Not a book for those who want a neat story and satisfying ending but very thought provoking.